Wire holding attachment for extrusion machines

ABSTRACT

A wire holding attachment for a dough extrusion machine including a dough cutting wire of predetermined length disposed taut between supporting posts where it is resiliently attached by means of wire tensioning springs with a shock absorber disposed between each tensioning spring and its respectively associated supporting post.

United States atent 11 1 1111 3,756,111 Weidenmiller 1 1 Sept. 4, 1973WIRE HOLDING ATTACHMENT FOR 852,107 4/1907 Cunningham 83/651.1 EXTRUSIONMACHINES 2,838,013 6/1958 Weidenmiller et a1. 425/31 1 2,232,122 2 19411 1 lnvsmor: Edward Weidenmiller, 8100 1,555,769 9/1925 Stefile 83/651.1

' Austin Ave., Lincolnwood, Ill.

Przmary Exammer-W1ll1e G. Abercrombie [22] Filed: Dec. 13, 1971 Appl.No.: 207,182

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Frey 83/307.1

Attorney-Robert C. Brown, Jr. et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A wire holding attachment for a dough extrusion machineincluding a dough cutting wire of predetermined length disposed tautbetween supporting posts where it is resiliently attached by means ofwire tensioning springs with a shock absorber disposed between eachtensioning spring and its respectively associated supporting post.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures WIRE HOLDING ATTACHMENT FOR EXTRUSIONMACHINES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Heretofore the usual doughextruding machine has included a dough cutting wire which was anchoredat one end and adjustably secured at its opposite end by means ofratchet mechanism which enabled the tension on the wire to be tightenedbut did not provide for any resilience in the attachment. The wire wasmaintained taut by the ratchet mechanism which was adjusted to thetightness of the wire necessary for it to perform its function duringthe cutting cycle. Consequently the wire was subjected to stresses fromimproper adjustments and stress points which frequently resulted inbreaking of the wire with an attendant loss of operating time forreplacing the broken wire. Breakdowns due to this type of failureentailed extensive loss of material due to the time required forreplacement of the cutting wire because of the manner of installingwires of the type previously used. It was necessary to cut a wire to theproper length, anchor it at one end in the machine, secure it to theratchet mechanism at its opposite end, and then adjust the ratchet tofix the tautness of the wire.

It was necessary to clean uncut dough from the delivery belt underlyingthe machine before the machine could again be placed in operation. Theresulting loss of oven time during this period may amount toapproximately one hundred to five hundred feet of the product travelingthrough the oven representing baking time lost. All of this causes thepackaging machines and equipment normally operating after the bakingoperation to be shut down so that the total loss extends to the completeprocessing of the product from the cutting operation, through the bakingoperation and to the packaging operation.

Conventional wire cutting machines utilized some auxiliary mechanism forreleasing dough blanks from the cutting wire. Frequently this took theform of special vibrators or oscillating devices for activating the wireto dislodge dough blanks therefrom. However, such devices did notinclude an ability to compensate for differences in various doughtextures where the consistency may vary over a wide range as a result ofusing nut meats, fruit bits, coconut, rough spices or syrups in thedough mixture. The prior devices did not have any tolerances for cuttinga wide variety of such doughs without undue strain on the cutting wire.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is the principal object of this invention toprovide a cutting wire attachment for dough extruding machines havingsufficient flexibility to cut doughs of varying texture and consistencyand automatically compensating for such dough variations by means of adynamically supported wire.

An important object of the invention is the provision of a cutting wirefor dough extruding machines mounted in wire tensioning springs atopposite ends of the wire.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cutting wire for doughextruding machines resiliently mounted at its opposite ends and having ashock absorber associated with each resilient mounting.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a cutting wire fordough extruding machines wherein the wire is of a fixed predeterminedlength to extend between and precisely fit the dimension between a pairof resilient end mountings therefor.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a cutting wire ofpredetermined length for dough extruding machines designed for quickreplacement by ready attachment to resilient end mountings.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of resilient endmountings for the cutting wire of dough extruding machines whereinvibrations are set up in the wire during the cutting cycle.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a resilientcutting wire attachment for dough extruding machines utilizing a cuttingwire of predetermined length extending between and mounted in resilientend attachments and having a plurality of supports intermediate the endsof the wire defining dough cutting positions therebetween wherein thewire may adjust to varying consistencies of the dough at the severalcutting positions.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other and still morespecific objects of the invention are attained by the structure andarrangement illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a general plan view of the preferred form of cutting barassembly including the cutting wire installation of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the cutting bar assembly to largerscale and showing it as it appears from the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a general plan view similar to FIG. 1' but il lustrates amodified form of the cutting wire installation as comprehended by thisinvention; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary detail view in elevation as taken from the line44 of FIG. 3 showing the manner of applying the non-metallic shockabsorber used in this species.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This is a cutting wire holding attachment fordough extruding machines utilizing a taut wire for cutting the doughinto a plurality of blanks as it is extruded continuously throughopenings in a die plate. The cutting wire is mounted at its respectivelyopposite ends in rigid post members by means of resilient devicescomprised of a wire tensioning spring and a shock absorber at each postmounting.

The cutting wire assembly, including the rigid posts, is carried by acutting bar frame that moves in a forward direction during the cuttingoperation, making surface contact with the bottoms of the extrusion dieopenings as the wire cuts-a plurality of dough blanks from the doughbeing extruded through the openings. The movement of the cutting barframe actually is orbital so that the cutting wire moves forward throughthe cutting area, then downwardly and back, where it rises again to moveacross the extrusion openings.

The cutting wire is supported at spaced intervals throughout its lengthbetween the rigid posts by means of stems or fingers that are slottedfor entry of the wire into the ends thereof. These supports prevent thecutting wire from excessive deflection as contact is made with thebottom surface of the die opening and buildup of pressure encounteredwhen the wire passes through the dough extrusions. However, theresilient end mountings of the cutting wire permits the wire to flexbetween respectively spaced pairs of the support stems where it engagesthe dough extrusions and this flexure may vary from one position toanother as the consistency of the dough varies according toconcentrations of nuts, raisins, coconut, etc in the several extrusions,resulting in difierent degrees of resistance at the several positions.The resilient mounting of the cutting wire thus affords plus and minustolerances for cutting a wide variety of dough textures withoutoverstressing the wire.

The resilient end mounting and shock absorber arrangement provides adynamic wire having a built-in or inherent vibration characteristicwhich facilitates release of the dough blanks from the wire without thenecessity for special vibrating apparatus to impart vibrations to thewire. It will be seen that when the wire is deflected at the severaldough cutting positions, as it passes through the dough, it will alwaysbe under the tension created by the end mounting springs so that uponapproaching the completion of its passage through the extrusion it willbe snapped taut by the action of the springs, thus vibrating the wireand thereby releasing the dough blanks. This occurs automatically torelease each successive series of dough blanks.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The present invention is related tothe Cookie Forming Machine of prior US. Pat. No. 2,838,013 of June 10,1958 to Robert M. Weidenmiller and Jack E. Weidenmiller and representsan improvement in the cutting wire assembly of the prior machine. Thedisclosure of said patent is hereby incorporated by this reference.

As shown in the drawings the cutting bar assembly is generally similarto the cutting bar assembly disclosed in tha patent above referred toand functions generally in the same manner, moving the cutting wire inan orbital path to avoid interference with the dough extrusions on thereturn stroke after the cutting stroke. The cutting bar assemblycomprises a finger bar holder 11 which, as shown in the above patentextends transversely of the machine and is connected at its oppositeends, by means of couplings 12, to outer bar supporting frame side arms13 for actuation thereby in performing the cutting operation. A fingerbar 14 is secured rigidly to the finger bar holder 11 by means of bolts15 having countersunk heads disposed flush with the surface of thefinger bar, which extends for substantially the major part of the lengthof the finger bar holder 11. A pair of finger bar truss members 16 areassembled on the finger bar 14 adjacent to the opposite ends thereofprior to its attachment to the finger bar holder 1 l. Bolts 17, havingcountersunk heads disposed flush with the finger bar surface next to thefinger bar holder rigidly secure the truss members 16 to the finger bar14. A plurality of stems or fingers 18 are mounted rigidly in the fingerbar 14 and secured in place by pins 19. The fingers 18 are disposed atregularly spaced intervals between the truss members 16.

The foregoing cutting bar assembly, as thus far discribed, may be saidto be typical of this type of cutting bar arrangement as usedheretofore. However, this invention provides a new cutting wire which isoriginal in concept and a new mounting arrangement for the cutting wirethat is also original in concept. It is important to note that thecutting wire 20 is of a predetermined fixed length which is madepossible in the application of the wire to the cutting bar assembly,through the medium of the new wire mounting arrangement. The wire 20 isdesigned to be used in a straight length of fixed dimension which isdefined by end stop members 21 fixed in position on the wire adjacentrespectively opposite ends by means of welding or brazing so that theattachment of the stops on the wire represents a permanent and whatmight be described as an integrated securement so that to all intentsand purposes the cutting wire 20 together with end stops 21 comprises anintegral assembly of fixed length.

As best shown in FIG. 1, both of the finger bar truss members 16 and allof the intermediate finger members 18 are provided with slots 22 intheir end portions and all of which are disposed in alinement across theseveral members. The wire 20 extends through these slots in a straightline, as installed, but may be deflected into the space between anyadjacent pair of the members 16 and 18 by the pressure of the dough orvariations in pressure at the several positions developed during thecutting operation. Such deflection is indicated by the dotted lineillustration of the cutting wire in FIG. 1. It should be noted that suchdeflection does not occur at sharp corners, which would cause a stressrise at each such point of bending of the wire, but the fingers 18 areprovided with rounded portions 23 where the wire 20 extends therearoundduring deflection so that such stress risers are avoided. Similarly, theslots 22 in both of the truss members 16 are rounded, as at 24, at theinner face of each such member so that here too an excessive rise instress is avoided. The wire 20 at all of these points is deflectedaround smoothly rounded p'ortions which avoid the necessity for anysharp bends in the wire at any point.

A primary feature of great importance in the mounting of the wire 20 inthe truss members 16 resides in the provision of resilience in themounts supporting the wire in the truss members. It is this resiliencethat enables the utilization of a cutting wire of predetermined fixedlength. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the respective mounts for the cuttingwire each comprise a metal leaf type spring 25 mounted in spacedrelation to the respective finger bar truss members 16 at the outer sidethereof by means of spacer blocks 26 and secured by bolts 27 threadedinto the respective truss members. The metal springs 25 extend parallelto the outer face of the respectively associated truss members and areeach provided with an inwardly offset recess 28 which affords a seat foreach of the end stops 21 on the cutting wire thus positioning the wireand normally retaining the wire against displacement. The spring 25 isprovided with a slot 29 (see FIG. 2) for entry of the cutting wire 20into the retaining recess 28, one or both springs being compressed toenable the wire thus to be inserted when installing the wire originallyor upon the installation of a replacement wire.

Each of the springs 25 is supplemented by a shock absorber spring 30.This shock absorber also comprises a leaf type metal spring and ismounted between the respective spacer block 26 and the associated trussmember 16 and secured by the same bolts 27. The shock absorber springseach bear against the outside face of the associated truss member andcurve outwardly therefrom to a reversely curved end portion havingbearing engagement with the inside surface of the spring 25. The shockabsorber springs 30 thus back up the primary springs 25 and serve toincrease the spring pressure exerted on the cutting wire and maintainthe wire under constant tension. It will be noted too that when thecutting wire completes its cutting stroke through the dough and thepressure exerted by the dough on the wire because of resistance topassage of the wire, is suddenly released, the wire 20 will be snappedback from the deflected position indicated in dotted lines to the fullline straight position and set up a dynamic vibration in the wire, dueto the tension exerted by the springs and shock absorbers 30, wherebythe cut dough blanks will be shaken loose from the wire to drop ont thesurface intended therefor.

The modified version of the invention as represented by the speciesillustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 functions in the same manner as thepreferred form of the device as heretofore described. The finger barholder 11, finger bar 14, finger bar truss members 16 and fingers 18 allare constructed and assembled in the same manner as in the previousform. The arrangement of these parts is identical with that previouslydescribed and the functions thereof also are the same. The resilientlymounted cutting wire however, while not differing in principle, takes asomewhat different form, particularly in respect to the springs used andthe shock absorbers. The metal springs 25 are secured directly to theoutside face of respectively associated truss member 16 by means ofbolts 27. The springs 25' are offset outwardly intermediate of theirlength, in spaced relation to the outer face of the associated trussmembers 16 and terminate in outwardly curved end portions 28' whichdefine seat portions for the end stop members 21 on the cutting wire 20.The springs 25' at their end portions 28 are each provided with a slotsimilar to the slotted arrangement of the spring in the previous formfor the insertion of the cutting wire, one or both springs beingcompressed to insert the wire. This species of the invention utilizes anon-metallic shock absorber in the form of a rubber bushing-like member30' disposed between the inner face of each spring 25 and the opposingface of the truss member 16. The rubber shock absorber 30' is slotted asat 31' and is slipped over the wire 20' after the wire is installed inthe seats 28'. Thus the rubber shock absorber is disposed between theopposing faces of the springs 25 and respectively associated trussmembers and functions in the same manner as the shock absorberpreviously described to supplement the springs 25 in maintaining thecutting wire 20' under constant tension. The end stops 21' of thisspecies differs somewhat from that of the preferred form but is securedto the wire permanently in the same manner and functions in the samemanner.

The utilization of a cutting wire of fixed predetermined length affordsgreat economic advantage and simple servicing in the maintenance andrepair of machines with broken cutting wires. Instead of the previouslycostly and time consuming cutting, installation and adjustment of a newwire by the complicated method previously used the present designprovides an arrangement where the wire is merely snapped into place. Theassembly of the cutting wire and end stops in predetermined standardlength in combination with the resilient mounts for the wire provides animproved operating wire as well as affording the advantages andeconomies of easy installation and replacement.

What is claimed is:

l. A wire holding attachment for a dough extruding machine including apair of spaced apart rigid post members, a cutting wire extendingcontinuously between said post members, means attaching respectivelyopposite ends of said cutting wire to respectively associated postmembers including wire-tensioning spring means mounting said cuttingwire to at least one of said post members, and a resilient shockabsorber means mounted between said spring means and said one postmember.

2. A wire holding attachment for a dough extruding machine as set forthin claim 1 wherein said shock absorber means mounted between said springmeans and said post member is non-metallic.

3. A wire holding attachment for a dough extruding machine as set forthin claim 2 wherein non-metallic shock absorber means is disposed betweensaid spring means and each of the respectively associated post members.

4. A wire holding attachment for a dough extruding machine as set forthin claim 3 wherein said nonmetallic shock absorber means are eachprovided with a slot and said cutting wire extends through each saidslot.

1. A wire holding attachment for a dough extruding machine including apair of spaced apart rigid post members, a cutting wire extendingcontinuously between said post members, means attaching respectivelyopposite ends of said cutting wire to respectively associated postmembers including wire-tensioning spring means mounting said cuttingwire to at least one of said post members, and a resilient shockabsorber means mounted between said spring means and said one postmember.
 2. A wire holding attachment for a dough extruding machine asset forth in claim 1 wherein said shock absorber means mounted betweensaid spring means and said post member is non-metallic.
 3. A wireholding attachment for a dough extruding machine as set forth in claim 2wherein non-metallic shock absorber means is disposed between saidspring means and each of the respectively associated post members.
 4. Awire holding attachment for a dough extruding machine as set forth inclaim 3 wherein said non-metallic shock absorber means are each providedwith a slot and said cutting wire extends through each said slot.